Abstract P460: A Behavioral Intervention to Improve Health Sleep Among Adults With Excess Weight and Suboptimal Sleep Health: Preliminary Results of a Feasibility Study
Authors: Christopher C Imes, Christopher E Kline, Sanjay R Patel, Susan M Sereika, Allison G Harvey, Daniel J Buysse, Lora E Burke
Journal: Circulation (2023)

Introduction: Suboptimal sleep health is highly prevalent and multiple dimensions of poor sleep have been identified as obesity predictors. Prior sleep interventions have not demonstrated a convincing effect on reducing obesity but this may be due to focusing on a single sleep dimension. The Transdiagnostic Intervention for Sleep and Circadian Dysfunction (TranS-C) is an efficacious, individually tailored behavioral intervention aimed at improving multiple dimensions of sleep. However, TranS-C has not been tested in adults with excess weight and suboptimal sleep health. Purpose: This single group, pre-test, post-test pilot study conducted in adults with excess weight and suboptimal sleep health examined the feasibility and impact of a remotely delivered, 8-week TranS-C intervention on a composite sleep health score and individual sleep health dimensions. Methods: The six dimensions of sleep addressed in TranS-C were regularity, satisfaction, alertness, timing, efficiency, and duration. Pre- and post-intervention individual sleep dimensions were assessed using validated questionnaires and Fitbit-derived accelerometry data, with values dichotomized into ‘good’ or ‘poor’ for each sleep dimension. A composite sleep health score was calculated as the count of the ‘good’ individual dimensions (possible range 0-6). Effect sizes were calculated as standardized within-subject mean differences ( d ) to describe the intervention effect on the composite score and individual dimensions. We conducted post-intervention semi-structured interviews and used thematic analysis to analyze the qualitative data. Results: Participants (N = 7) were mostly female (71.4%) and white (71.4%) with a mean age of 41.0 ± 17.2 years and mean body mass index of 33.2 ± 3.8 kg/m 2 . Mean composite sleep health score pre-TranS-C was 3.6 ± 1.3 (range 2-5) compared to a mean post-TranS-C composite sleep health score of 4.7 ± 0.8 (range 4-6) ( d = 1.27). Improvements were seen in all individual dimensions except timing with effect sizes ranging from 0.38 to 1.46. During the semi-structured interviews, participants stated that they found the intervention to be informative, liked receiving the sessions remotely, and thought it improved their sleep. However, participants mentioned that some of the modules were not very helpful because information was repetitive or the information did not apply to them, and they suggested that the intervention be delivered in fewer sessions. Conclusions: TranS-C was acceptable for participants with overweight or obesity and suboptimal sleep health and had a large, positive effect on the composite sleep health score. Future refinement of the intervention will include reducing the number of sessions by identifying the most relevant modules and eliminating repetitive information. Continued refinement of the intervention will focus on the content addressing the timing dimension of sleep.